The myrtle family (Myrtaceae) contains about 150 genera and 3,300 species of trees and shrubs. Its members are widely distributed in the tropics and characteristically feature leathery leaves with oil glands. Several are useful as spices, and a number of species are economically important as timber trees. The following is a list of some of the major genera and species in Myrtaceae, arranged alphabetically by common name or genus.

The four sisters are Australian – Anise, Honey, Lemon and Rose.
They have asked me to tell their story about how their family and how special they are.
Myrtles Storey is for Aunt Ruth, a special Nightingale and Jack Wood a special father

“MYRTLE’S STORY”

The Myrtus cousins from the MediterraneanThe myrtle plant family was first mentioned in history in ancient Greece. It was associated with Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and was offered to certain men and women as a symbol of honour. The Greeks also valued the plant because of its healing qualities.

Myrtle is an evergreen shrub that originated from Africa but has become a native plant in the Mediterranean region. Its small, dark green leaves, purple-black coloured berries, and fragrant white flowers are all sources of myrtle essential oil.
However, it’s the leaves that produce the oil used in traditional medicine.

Now –“Only in Australia”

It was growing here FIRST (proven fact) and that’s another storey
The sister’s essential oil is derived from their leaves.

ANISE PERNOD MYRTLE as her middle name suggests is the alcoholic of the family. Bush tucker food and a flavoring agent for beverages and alcoholic drinks.

HONEY PRECIOUS MYRTLE , as her middle name suggests is a precious and rare commodity

LEMON FAVOURITE MYRTLE, as her middle name suggests is lively, uplifting and happy. Out and about everywhere, well known and popular. Although Lemon doesn’t drink alcohol, she is a Teetotaler. Lemon is “famous” in the Bush Tucker scene and a historic brand name, reminiscent of Australian a soft drink called Tarax.

ROSE is just a ROSE Stunningly beautiful and fragrant. Rose to nose. It takes her a while to get ready and she is still getting to the website.

The four sisters are Nurses and know a lot about Natural healing and therapies.
They also like sports and go to a game or two.

Myrtus cousins are coming for a visit

Aunt Ruth is excited because her heritage stems from England. Proud to have met and known Sir Joseph Banks, a military man who later became one of Australia’s Botanists. For the girls and the Mediterranean cousins Ruth asked Eucalyptus “Australiana” as he is the most is the most gentle and pleasant, to organise a game of football.
Of course, the strongest Eucalyptus “Globulus” known all over the world for his strength was the STAR PLAYER for Australia.

Tea Tree is always the First Aid man.
Ruth and Lemon would make scones and tea and Anise was on the grog stand, where else.

ROSE and HONEY would enter a best hat competition ‘for the ladies”. What else would mask “bad smells”.

Uncle Jack was to gather all the merchandising and his daughter would handle the advertising and check their passports.

SO, BRING IT ON.GO THE GREEN AND GOLD!

LEAGUE of NATIONS – BOTANICAL COUNTRY OF ORIGIN

While the Botanical Family differ because of where they live, they are all proud. They live where they are happy and Healthy because of their Country and Climate. The soil, sun, rainfall and even their regions make them who they are – yet all get on pretty well.
At least until the match!

Questions to ponder for the match !

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie do you realise why Australia is a stronger and healthier Continent?

Why do we NOT get most disease that plaques other countries?

Why are we young and free regardless of RACE, COLOUR and CREED

It’s all because of the healing properties of our BEAUTIFUL TREES and the history of our family heritage is really all we NEED

Remember: F A M I L Y means Father and Mother I LOVE YOU

Written by me for me, Ruth and Jack, you are from very special from both sides of the fence
I AM – Namaste, I SEE YOU

Contrary to the world’s belief and the little known fact, Australian Indigenous – Aboriginal peoples had the first natural medicine trading industry in Australia. They taught our early settlers how to use their medicine to heal wounds, colds, sore muscles, skin problems and very beneficial insect repellants.
Our traditional people were the first in the world to have used essential oils. Seven thousand years before the Egyptians. Dated and recorded, yet not acknowledged, as promised, by our government.

Recorded evidence and around 4,000 artefacts were given by the Bundjalung People around Coraki in NSW. This substantially proved they actually distilled and traded TEA TREE up and down the east coast of Australia, with other traditional peoples using other essential oils, such as many different Eucalyptus Oils. Our Tea Tree Oil along with Eucalyptus oil, are still in the Top 5 medicinal oils in the world. May I repeat: Seven thousand years before the Egyptians.

Later recordings from the outback heard of Sandalwood being used by expectant mothers and also used by the Aboriginals as a nice smell.

Bundjalung Legend

“The legendary Princess Eelemani of the Bundjalung people was the Johnny Appleseed of tea tree oil. In the legend of Eelemani we learn of a beautiful princess who has to leave her true lover and travel through the bushland of coastal New South Wales. The journey was long and the forest trail was unknown to Eelemani. She was concerned that the return to her loved one and family would be difficult. Eelemani was no ordinary princess and so she spoke to the Gods of the earth and planets and was rewarded with special seeds that were to be sown along the trails.

As Eelemani walked through the forests, the bell birds called reassuringly and willie wagtails followed protectively through their territory. The special seeds were scattered on the moist, fertile forest soil. Falling to the ground, they grew roots and shoots and flew towards the sunlight. So remarkable were these trees that their beautiful white paper bark stood out from all the other trees. At night the polished sheen reflected the light of the moon showing the trail. Eelemani felt so safe knowing that the Gods had given her such a powerful marker to protect her on her journey.

And so the trees of Eelemani flourished and over the aeons of time the Bundjalung people came to learn of the magical properties: Just as the trees had protected Eelemani, the leaves were found to protect against infection and skin ailments.

It is difficult to know the truth of the story that Sir Joseph Banks, the Endeavour botanist brewed some tea from a ‘tea like’ plant and hence created ‘Australian Tea Tree’. Certainly the story of Eelemani is more credible – especially if you have tasted tea made from either Leptospermum or Melaleuca spp.“

From the opening speech by Dr Alan Twomey at the 1995 Tea Tree Oil National Conference – from folklore to fact in August 1995

The indigenous Bundjalung people of eastern Australia are believed to have used tea trees as a traditional medicine for many years in a variety of ways including inhaling the oil from the crushed leaves to treat coughs and colds, applying the leaves on wounds as a poultice as well as brewing an infusion of the leaves to make a tea for treatment of sore throats or applying on the skin for minor wounds, abrasions and insect bites and stings. One of the areas where tea trees are grown in abundance today is called Bungawalbyn which translates to ‘healing ground’. Captain James Cook named the tea tree because he observed the Bundjalung people of eastern Australia use the leaves to prepare a healing tea and it is reported that his men used the leaves first to make a tea and then to brew a type of beer!

Arthur Penfold in collaboration with FR Morrison published the first reports of pure tea tree oil’s antimicrobial activity in a series of papers in the 1920s and 1930s. In evaluating the antimicrobial activity of M. alternifolia, tea tree oil was rated as 11- 13 times more active than phenol while being milder and therefore safer for topical application. Shortly after the medicinal properties of the oil were first reported by Penfold, the tea tree industry was born. The oil was produced from natural bush stands of M. alternifolia with the plant material being harvested by hand and distilled on the spot in mobile wood-fired bush stills.

A bush still being filled with hand cut M alternifolia from a natural bush stand circa 1980

Tea tree oil became a household remedy in many Australian homes and was an essential part of every Australian soldier’s kit during World War II which is probably how the word was spread to the rest of the world on the properties and efficacy of the oil. Production ebbed in the 1950’s and early 1960’s as demand for the oil declined due both to the development of antibiotics and the waning image of natural products as the post WWII boom took off. Interest in the oil was rekindled in the late 1960’s early 1970’s as part of the general renaissance of the general interest in natural products that accompanied the baby boomer generation as they searched for the meaning of life.

The first commercial plantations were established in the 1970’s and 1980’s which led to the establishment of the first crude mechanical harvesting devices and forerunners of the larger, static distillation plants which have evolved to produce today’s consistent, high quality, 100% pure Australian tea tree oil.

During the first two World Wars, wild harvested Tea Tree oil was carried around and used by Australian soldiers.

Australian Sandalwood (Santalum spicatum) was wild harvested and distilled for perfumery, as was Western Australia’s Boronia (Boronia megastigma). Australian Sandalwood was used as a bactericide in Australia and western Europe, it was eventually replaced by antibiotics.

Peppermint Gum (Eucalyptus dives) oil became used for the production of menthol, it was used in cough drops and syrups until the synthetic menthol industry rose up.

During World War II, Lemon Myrtle was harvested and distilled from wild trees near Gympie, south east Queensland for the supply of lemon essence by drink manufacturer Tarax. However not enough trees were in the wild to make it viable and operations ceased.

There were also small amounts of Lemon Scented Gum (Corymbria citriodora) and Lemon Scented Tea Tree (Leptospermum petersonii) distilled.

Today Australian essential oils are prized and they are shipped all over the world, yet in Australia, very little is known by the consumer about our amazing beneficial collection of the Australian Essential oils.

In the world today any concentrated, volatile, aromatic liquid that is obtained from the fruits, seeds, flowers, bark, stems, roots, leaves or other parts of a plant. There are estimated to be 10,000 aromatic plants that contain essential oils on Earth, and about 500 of these are processed commercially for essential oil extraction. These oils have been used for centuries for both their healing and aromatic benefits. This is most commonly accomplished by steam distillation (steam is passed through the plant material), and sometimes hydro distillation (the plant is gently boiled in water). More modern methods include mechanically expressing oils from citrus fruit peel, and solvent extraction. Solvent extracted oils include CO2 extracts and absolutes, and these are not classed as essential oils.

Today we look for natural, unmodified products. Organic is just an awareness of Natural. Not modified by man or pollution. That is why I choose to spread the word about essential oil benefits. In particular to provide information about Australia’s contribution to the world’s essential oil catalogue.

Again I would like to thank our First Nations Peoples and our pioneers in The Australian Essential Oil Industry. Also today the many farmers, distillers and distributors of Australian Essential Oils.

Australian Water Dragons

The Australian water dragon (Intellagama lesueurii, formerly Physignathus lesueurii), which includes the eastern water dragon (I. l. lesueurii ) and the Gippsland water dragon (I. l. howittii ) subspecies, Continue reading Australian Water Dragons

Bennelong (1764–1813)

by Eleanor Dark 1966

WoollarawarreBennelong, Aboriginal, was captured in November 1789 and brought to the settlement at Sydney Cove by order of Governor Arthur Phillip, who hoped to learn from him more of the natives’ customs and language. Bennelong took readily to life among the white men, relished their food, acquired a taste for liquor, learned to speak English and became particularly attached to the governor, in whose house he lodged. In May he escaped, and no more was seen of him until September when he was among a large assembly of natives at Manly, one of whom wounded Phillip with a spear. The attack seems to have been the result of a misunderstanding, and Bennelong took no part of it; indeed, he expressed concern and frequently appeared near Sydney Cove to inquire after the governor’s health. The incident was thus the means of re-establishing contact between them and, when assured that he would not be detained, Bennelong began to frequent the settlement with many of his compatriots, who made the Government House yard their headquarters.

In 1791 a brick hut, 12 feet sq. (1.1 m²), was built for him on the eastern point of Sydney Cove, now called Bennelong Point.

In December 1792 he sailed with Phillip for England where he was presented to King George III. August 1794 found him on board the Reliance in Plymouth Sound, waiting to return to the colony with Governor John Hunter, but the ship did not sail until early in 1795, and on 25 January Hunter wrote that Bennelong’s health was precarious because of cold, homesickness and disappointment at the long delay which had ‘much broken his spirit’. He reached Sydney in September, and thereafter references to him are scanty, though it is clear that he could no longer find contentment or full acceptance either among his countrymen or the white men. Two years later he had become ‘so fond of drinking that he lost no opportunity of being intoxicated, and in that state was so savage and violent as to be capable of any mischief’. In 1798 he was twice dangerously wounded in tribal battles. A censorious paragraph in the Sydney Gazette records his death at Kissing Point on 3 January 1813.

His wife, Barangaroo, bore him a daughter named Dilboong who died in infancy. Later he took a second wife, Gooroobaroobooloo, but during his absence in England she found another mate, and disdained Bennelong when he returned.

His age, at the time of his capture, was estimated at 25, and he was described as being ‘of good stature, stoutly made’, with a ‘bold, intrepid countenance’. His appetite was such that ‘the ration of a week was insufficient to have kept him for a day’, and ‘love and war seemed his favourite pursuits’. Contemporary accounts reveal him as courageous, intelligent, vain, quick-tempered, ‘tender with children’ and something of a comedian.

Bennelong also had a son who was adopted by Rev. William Walker and christened Thomas Walker Coke. He died after a short illness aged about 20.

Paul Keating is right: Sydney was tapped on the shoulder by a rainbow when it got its amazing Opera House. We are right to celebrate it and be super-sensitive to its conservation and the integrity of its setting. Continue reading The Keepers of Sydney Opera House

“Spirit of Australia”

In 1937 Harold Cazneaux photographed a red gum in Wilpena Pound, in South Australia’s Flinders Ranges. The photograph, titled The Spirit of Endurance, was reproduced on calendars and posters all over the worldContinue reading The Spirit of Australia – Why?